A man was arrested and charged with the alleged sexual assault of an 8-year-old special needs child in Glendale.
Glendale police identified the suspect as Joseph Vladimir Sanchez, 25, of Glendale.
On Dec. 19, 2025, authorities were notified that a child had allegedly been sexually abused by a special education assistant at a Glendale elementary school.
The incident reportedly occurred on school grounds. Following an investigation, Sanchez was taken into custody the next day. He posted bail and an arraignment hearing was set for Feb. 4.
Joseph Vladimir Sanchez, 25, of Glendale, is seen in a booking photo from the Glendale Police Department.
As detectives continued investigating the case, they identified two additional underage victims.
The new evidence was presented to the court at Sanchez’s arraignment, where he was ordered back into custody. He is currently being held on $6 million bail.
On Feb. 5, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office confirmed he was charged with committing sexual acts upon a child under 10 years old, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under 14 years old and possession of child pornography.
At the time of the incident, Sanchez was a contracted special education assistant from Covelo Group and assigned to Columbus Elementary School and Glenoaks Elementary School. He was not an employee of the Glendale Unified School District or the City of Glendale.
Detectives are searching for additional victims or witnesses with the belief that there may be more victims dating back as far as three years.
“The Glendale Unified School District is cooperating fully and has offered its support in assisting with identifying potential victims and witnesses,” a police spokesperson said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Glendale Police Department Assaults Bureau at 818-548-4840.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.